We keep in mind Pope Francis as a Pope of peace by his tireless appeals and fixed visits to indicate his closeness to these struggling the results of one of the vital unjust human-made disasters: conflict.
By Francesca Merlo
At his final public look, Pope Francis repeated what had grow to be a slogan in his hold forth of peace. Everybody knew to anticipate it on the finish of his audiences, however by no means did it lose its energy.
Through the Easter Urbi et Orbi blessing, the day earlier than he died, the Pope’s phrases echoed the numerous appeals he had made through the years, urging world leaders to put down arms and switch to dialogue.
Whilst he struggled to talk, having requested somebody to learn his message on his behalf, his voice, albeit weak, resonated throughout St Peter’s Sq. and screens the world over.
From the primary days of his 12-year-long hold forth, Pope Francis spearheaded the worldwide Catholic motion for peace advocacy. By way of phrases, actions, and deeds, he demonstrated his unshakable perception within the energy of reconciliation, the significance of dialogue, and the urgency of ending violence in all its types.
Phrases and actions
Dubbed “the Pope of the peripheries,” Pope Francis all the time took the time to recollect these affected by battle. Whereas praying for peace in areas that achieve a lot of the media consideration, he additionally by no means did not channel his prayers to a few of the areas most hard-hit, but most forgotten by the world.
One in all his most symbolic gestures, and a very placing second of his hold forth, was in April 2019, when he knelt to kiss the ft of South Sudanese leaders on the head of a rustic grappling with a horrific civil conflict. As he greeted President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar within the Vatican, the Pope, in his humility, kissed their ft, urging the leaders to put down their weapons and pursue paths of peace.
Pope Francis kneels to kiss the ft of South Sudan’s leaders (ANSA)
His private plea turned diplomatic when, 4 years later, in February 2023, he traveled to South Sudan. Together with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, he warmly addressed 1000’s of trustworthy who had suffered and continued to endure the brutal penalties of conflict.
Then, as he addressed the nation’s authorities, civil society and diplomatic corps on the Presidential Palace in Juba, he warned them: “Future generations will both venerate your names or cancel their reminiscence, primarily based on what you now do”.
His cry for peace additionally seemed to the legacy of wars previous, the scars inflicted by the violent atrocities dedicated between nations and peoples, and guaranteeing that sure errors are by no means repeated. Throughout his go to to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in November 2019, Pope Francis delivered a strong plea in opposition to nuclear weapons.
Standing on the Atomic Bomb Hypocentre Park in Nagasaki, on the identical floor the place atomic bombs had precipitated unprecedented destruction, he condemned the devastation attributable to such arms and all who possess them, declaring, “The usage of atomic vitality for functions of conflict is immoral, simply because the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral.”
Pope Francis prays on the Atomic Bomb Hypocentre Park in Nagasaki (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis constantly sought to handle the roots of destruction, urging these in positions of energy to take duty. His advocacy for denuclearization was important on this.
So usually, Pope Francis denounced the arms commerce, repeatedly condemning those that revenue from conflict. Addressing america Congress on 24 September 2015, he posed a haunting query: “Why are lethal weapons being bought to those that plan to inflict untold struggling on people and society? Sadly, the reply, as everyone knows, is just for cash: cash that’s drenched in blood, usually harmless blood.”
He described the funding of cash in weapons as ‘insanity’ and decried the debt linked to the “black market” of arms. Because the world entered 2025, his message remained as pressing as ever: “Cease colonizing folks with weapons!”
Pilgrimages of peace
Simply as South Sudan was, many extra of Pope Francis’ apostolic journeys have been devoted to peace. In March 2021, he made historical past as the primary pope to journey to Iraq. There, he introduced a message of unity and hope to a nation devastated by years of battle.
Particularly, his assembly with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf underscored the ability of interreligious dialogue and mutual respect, and led to Pope Francis’ assertion that “Peace doesn’t demand winners or losers, however brothers and sisters who, regardless of misunderstandings and previous wounds, select the trail of dialogue.”
Most just lately, in September 2024, Pope Francis visited East Timor, a younger nation that fought lengthy and exhausting for independence. His presence was a fierce signal of closeness to essentially the most Catholic nation on the earth, which struggled so lengthy for freedom and continues to be therapeutic from its previous.
There, as he celebrated Mass at Tasitolu for 600,000 folks, the Pope reminded these current that “You remained agency in hope even amid affliction, and, due to the character of your folks and your religion, you’ve turned sorrow into pleasure”.
Diplomatic appeals and ceasefire calls
Past his travels, Pope Francis has used his voice to intervene in international conflicts, interesting tirelessly for ceasefires and negotiations. In Could 2014, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with him within the Vatican for a prayer summit, demonstrating his perception that prayer and dialogue might pave the best way for peace.
Pope Francis, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accompanied by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on June 8, 2014
Since then, as violence continued to escalate within the Center East, in October 2024, Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for a ceasefire in Gaza, the discharge of Israeli hostages and humanitarian entry to these in want throughout the area.
In that very same month, after one yr of Israeli offensive in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian Minister for Overseas Affairs Nasser Al-Kidwa offered Pope Francis with their peace proposal for the conflict devastating their nations.
The unwavering voice of a peacemaker
The Pope’s closeness to those that endure and his advocacy for an finish to international violence have been all the time a precedence. Even in moments of private problem, Pope Francis remained dedicated to peace.
In his ultimate weeks, all through his hospitalization for bilateral pneumonia, Pope Francis took the time to video chat with the Holy Household parish in Gaza, with whom he has been in shut contact all through the whole lot of the Israeli offensive.
On this Holy Yr devoted to Hope, Pope Francis’ messages, closeness, and look after peace are a legacy that can proceed to resonate all through the way forward for the Church and humanity, remembering that his was not only a cry for an absence of conflict, however for the presence of justice, dialogue, and fraternity – for a world that’s for everybody and never only for some, and wherein those that have extra by no means, ever neglect those that have much less.
